U.S. DDPP team activities in 2016 : intense outreach, high-profile influence, and a new pathways model

The U.S. reports (Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States and Policy Implications of Deep Decarbonization in the United State) published in 2014 and 2015 were presented to many organizations throughout 2016, including federal government agencies (State, DOE, EPA), academic institutions (UC Berkeley, UCLA, Columbia, Texas, Maryland), national laboratories (LBNL, NREL, INEL, PNNL), industry groups (IPIECA, Exelon, Chevron, Duke, Hydro Quebec), and NGOs (CSIS, UCS, NRDC, EDF, RE-AMP). These presentations included keynote addresses at major conferences, invited talks at workshops and scientific meetings, and briefings organized by businesses and expert groups specifically to learn about the work.

The U.S. team also presented DDPP synthesis results to the Major Economies Forum; led a workshop on deep decarbonization for the Under2 MOU coalition; organized a session on mid-century strategies at the Low Emissions Solutions Conference at COP-22, including a panel of DDPP teams; and accepted an invitation to join the energy task force of the American Geophysical Union, one of the largest scientific associations in the U.S.

Thanks to this intense communication and outreach, the U.S. DDPP studies strongly influenced a number of high profile reports by government, business, and academic organizations. These include the U.S. government Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization released during COP-22; the Risky Business report From Risk to Return: Investing in a Clean Energy Economy; a book project, Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States, led by the Columbia University Law School, on track for publication in early 2017; and a new paper on U.S. progress in implementing the Paris pledges supported by MILES and submitted to Nature Climate Change for review.

Currently, the U.S. DDPP team is continuing to work in areas where progress can be made despite the negative consequences of the U.S. election at the federal level. Some of these activities include state-level pathways recently completed for New York and Washington states, developed not only for state policy but also as potential cornerstones for climate cooperation in the Pacific and New England regions. Two national laboratory projects inspired by the U.S. reports include a detailed grid study of electrification potential in the U.S., and a new initiative on land use and the terrestial carbon sink. Other research areas planned for 2017 include a partnership with the University of Washington to study the air quality and public health benefits of deep decarbonization, and another with U.C. San Diego on the political economy of deep decarbonization, including jobs, industry transitions, and public acceptance.

Finally, the new “EnergyPATHWAYS model”, an enhanced, open-source version of the PATHWAYS model used in the U.S. DDPP reports, was completed in 2016, with a full representation so far of the U.S. and the states of California, Washington, and New York. Substantial progress was made on documentation and user interface development, and it is hoped that other DDPP teams will be able to use the tool in their work later in 2017.